Online Special Education Master's Degree for Teaching Those with Visual Impairments

Our Special Education Master of Arts – Visual Impairment Emphasis program will give
you the skills and knowledge to help students with visual impairments meet their potential
in academic and social areas of their lives. This program prepares you to work with
students from birth to age 21 with a special emphasis on the needs of early childhood
and elementary-aged students. You will also complete meaningful field-based experiences
with visually impaired students in your home community.

Courses are delivered entirely online, which allows you to continue working while
obtaining your master's degree.

This program is designed for...

Teachers

Paraeducators

Those looking for a career change – if you are not currently a teacher, talk to the
Program Coordinator about any additional requirements.

A History of Excellence

The School of Special Education at the University of Northern Colorado has a long
history of excellence in the preparation of special education teachers. The school
is fully accredited by the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Higher
Learning Commission.

Get Started/Apply

Program Coordinator

Required Coursework (42 Credit Hours or Less)

Note: if you are already licensed as a special education teacher, you will likely
be able to complete this master's degree with 36 credit hours because we may be able
to waive three courses (the ones noted below with an asterisk).

Admission Requirements

Possess (or be in the process of finishing) a baccalaureate degree from a regionally
accredited college or university, or a comparable degree from a foreign institution.

Have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better (on a 4.00 point scale) for the most recent
degree earned or current degree in progress.

If you are still completing your bachelor's degree at the time you apply, admission
will be based on your current cumulative GPA, and you will need to re-submit your
official transcript (showing your conferred degree and final GPA) during your first
semester. If your final GPA fell below 3.00, you will be given additional requirements
as defined by the academic program that must be met within one calendar year to remain
enrolled at UNC.

If you have completed a master's degree, or at least 18 credit hours towards a master's
degree, the GPA of your master's work will be used.

Note: the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is NOT required for this program.

Eligibility by State

At this time, UNC can serve online education to students from every state, the U.S.
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. However, we are not currently accepting students to
our online programs who reside in the CNMIs. Due to how fluid these agreements can
be at the state or federal level, we recommend checking our Eligibility by State page for details.

International Student Eligibility

International students residing outside of the United States are eligible to apply
to our online programs. Applicants for online programs must demonstrate English proficiency
in order to be considered. Possible ways to demonstrate proficiency:

Qualifying test scores: TOEFL iBT: 80, IELTS: 6.5, PTE: 60

Completion of a degree in the U.S., or from an English speaking country (parts of
Europe, Canada), within the last two years.

Students in completely online UNC programs are not required to come to the United
States. You will not need student Visas or receive any immigration documentation, and do not need to provide
financial documentation during the application process.

Transferring Credit

Applicable graduate credit with a grade of A or B from a regionally accredited university may be able to be applied towards this academic program. Master's
degree students must complete a minimum of 24 credits at the University of Northern
Colorado. All work counted in a master's degree program must be completed within five
years. The time limit is calculated from the beginning of the first class transferred
in and counted in the degree program. See the full Graduate Transfer Credit Policy.

Students must submit an original transcript to their advisor for review. Student and
advisor then complete a Transfer of Credit form to submit along with the original transcript to the Grad School for review and final
approval.

Tuition

This is an Extended Campus program, which means:

A flat per-credit tuition rate for all students (in-state or out-of-state)

There are no student fees – they are incorporated into our flat tuition rate

Program tuition for the 2019-20 academic year (which runs Fall, Spring, and Summer
terms) is $555 per credit hour. Tuition for the 2020-21 academic year will be determined
mid-June 2020.

Financial Aid

Students who cannot pay for tuition alone are encouraged to apply for federal financial
aid. Students must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
The FAFSA priority filing date for each academic year (a Fall-Spring-Summer cycle
which begins each August) is March 1, although the form is now available by October
1 of the previous year and requests tax information from the year prior. For example,
the FAFSA form for aid for the 2020-21 school year is released on Oct. 1, 2019, and
is based off of 2018 tax return information.

Late submissions of the FAFSA are still accepted throughout the school year but you
may not be considered for the maximum amount of aid. If the March priority deadline
has passed for the upcoming/current school year, we encourage you to apply for FAFSA
consideration as soon as you enroll for your first courses. Depending on the time
of year, you may be able to submit an application for the current academic year and
an early/priority application for the following academic year.

Master's degree students must be enrolled in a minimum of 5 credits per academic term for financial aid eligibility. Full time
enrollment is based on 9 credits per term.

Students can also find helpful information such as the Guide to Federal Student Aid
at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/resources. Most of the resources are available in English, Spanish, and Braille.

Student Health Insurance

The University of Northern Colorado offers a Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP)
to all degree-seeking students who enroll in courses on our main UNC Campus, an Extended
Campus Center, or Online.

Degree-seeking graduate students enrolled in 6 or more credit hours will automatically
receive this benefit each term. SHIP premiums will appear on your semester bill. If
you have comparable insurance coverage, and do not want to be charged for SHIP coverage,
you must opt out of this plan each Fall via an online waiver process.